ALIENS STRIKE BACK
by waywardwings
Summary: It’s three months later. After an overnight field trip, the group return to find the whole town’s been infected. This time, the aliens aren’t just taking over the school, they’re taking over the world...
1. PART 1

This is my first time trying this, so I haven't typed up everything yet – waiting for the reviews to point me in the right direction! Btw, this is set about 3 months after the events in The Faculty. In that, I decided to make Mrs Olson the big bad alien, not the new girl. And the story's told in the new girl's POV. The new girl, Ann, is actually my own creation. Mary-Beth doesn't exist. Ann, with brown hair and blue eyes, sort of takes the place of Mary-Beth, and was never an alien. (You may have notice I've incorporated similar lines from the first new movie – I love sequels that closely correlate to their prequels). Well, happy reading!

Chapter 1

"...and make sure you note all the morphological features of your pelagic collection..." droned Ms Bishop.

"Hey, what's pelagic again?" Gabe asked.

"Sea-dwelling organism." Zeke drawled without looking up. He dropped a large shell into the yellow bucket Casey was holding.

I playfully bumped him with my bucket. "Oh, you just know everything, don't you?" I teased, mimicking that talk we had in Mr Furlong's biology class three months ago.

"He's a contradiction," Casey answered before Zeke could. He grinned at him. "Yeah, we all know." Casey hefted the bucket he and Zeke shared. The sea-water sloshed over the sides and splashed onto the white sand.

While our biology teacher continued to drone on, our class wandered along the beach, collecting shells, seaweed, anything that washed up onto the sand. As our new biology teacher, replacing Mr Furlong, Ms Bishop was a veritable slavedriver, assigning reports and pop quizzes one after the other. But she had managed to convince the new principal Mr Stone to allow the overnight field trip to this secluded beach just outside of Ohio. We were grateful for that at least, knowing the former Principal Drake would never have agreed.

Zeke leaned in, a finger to his lips. There was a mischievous glint in his brown eyes as he picked out a slimy wet creature from my bucket and turned to Gabe's unsuspecting back. Stokely and I exchanged amused smiles. We watched Zeke sneak up behind Gabe and drop the creature down his back.

"Fuck!" Gabe yelled, his hands instantly flying to his back, squirming and trying to shake out the creature.

Casey, Stokely, Zeke and I burst out laughing. Swearing again, Gabe spun around to us. Still grinning, Zeke took off down the beach with Gabe in hot pursuit. I watched the two sprint off, shaking my head and smiling. Catching Chris grinning, I smiled at him briefly before looking away. Chris was also a Hornets jock, with brown hair and dark brown eyes. Unlike the other jerks, he and Stan were the more decent jocks on the team. I also knew he had a thing for me, but since I was with Zeke, he hadn't made any passes, and for that I was grateful.

"Better hop to it, kids!" Ms Bishop clapped once to bring our attention back. "I want to see a thousand word report on my desk Wednesday morning."

There was a collective groan. Dragging our feet through the sand, we continued to search the beach.


	2. A walk along the beach

Chapter 2  
  
I had been lying in bed for about half an hour, unable to sleep, when there was a soft tap at the window. Frowning, I raised myself up and glanced out. Zeke's face appeared at the window. I started.  
  
"Zeke!" I whispered, casting a furtive glance around the beach-house/cabin. The other girls were still fast asleep. "What are you doing here?"  
  
He grinned. "Wanna go for a walk?"  
  
I feigned an indecisive frown. If we were caught, Bishop wasn't going to let us off lightly. But then again, I couldn't sleep anyway.  
  
"I don't know, Zeke..." I began, biting my lip in mock reluctance. But then I smiled, "Just kidding. Sure, why not?"  
  
His face split into a grin. Grabbing a jacket, I slid open the window further and climbed out with Zeke's help. He slipped his warm hand over mine and led me along the wood-planked walkway. We crept past the other student's cabins, ducking below Bishop's window on the way. The stairs creaked noisily as we descended to the beach. I paused, half expecting someone to come out to investigate, but no one did. Letting out a breath, I proceeded down to the sand with Zeke.  
  
It was a beautiful, cloudless night. The waves were touched with silver from reflected moonlight, and stars glittered like diamond pin-pricks across an endless expanse of midnight sky. I breathed in the cool, clear air. I loved the sea. In companionable silence, Zeke and I strolled along the water's edge, the waves gently lapping our feet.  
  
After a time, we stopped and gazed out over the ocean. Zeke wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, holding me warmly. I leaned back, relaxing in the peaceful moment. I glanced up at Zeke. A soft sea-breeze gently stirred stray strands of his hair. I had the urge to run my hand through that tousled hair. He smiled down at me. I returned his smile and went back to gazing out at the sea.  
  
Not many people got to see this side of him. At school, he maintained his drug-dealing bad boy reputation, but I had a glimpse of his sweet side that time we sneaked into the science storeroom and overheard the others discussing the possibility of alien invasion.  
  
I closed my eyes, listening to the steady sound of the waves.  
  
"It's so peaceful..." I murmured.  
  
Zeke didn't answer. It suddenly occurred to me that I couldn't feel his arms around me anymore. I opened my eyes. "Zeke?"  
  
He was gone.  
  
"Zeke!" I turned, scanning the empty beach. Where had he gone?  
  
Then I heard it. Something big, behind me. I spun around.  
  
From the sea, a colossal monstrous shape rose out of the waves. I gasped in shocked disbelief. It was a creature I thought I would never have to see again. Only this one was a hundred times its size. Water ran off its long, rippling tentacles in rivulets. Bulbous green eyes fixed sentiently on my comparatively small frame. Opening an immense maw lined with rows of razor- sharp teeth, it let out an ear-splitting shriek.  
  
Then it came charging through the water towards me.  
  
I screamed – 


	3. Just a dream?

Chapter 3  
  
– and jerked awake.  
  
Gasping, I found myself lying on the bed, staring up at the cabin ceiling.  
  
"What's wrong?" Stokely was beside the bed, looking down at me worriedly.  
  
I glanced around the dark room. The four other girls sharing the cabin were also sitting up in bed, watching me with confused expressions on their faces.  
  
"What happened?" I managed to croak out.  
  
"You screamed in your sleep," Kirsten replied from the bed closest to mine. She was a slight, blonde-haired girl also in my French and Literature class.  
  
Before I could answer, there was an urgent pounding at the door. Stokely got up to open it. Zeke entered the room and went straight over to my bed.  
  
Crouching down, he asked me, "Are you ok?" There was genuine concern in his brown eyes.  
  
I nodded. "Just a dream..." I buried my head in his warm chest. He held me tightly. My heart was still pounding like a frightened rabbit's as I tried to bring my ragged breathing under control.  
  
"Was it the alien bitch again?" Stokely asked in a low voice so that the other girls couldn't hear.  
  
"Yes," I whispered. We all still relived the nightmare of the first invasion from time to time, but lately, the nightmares had been coming more frequently. None of us knew what that meant. We weren't sure we really wanted to know.  
  
"What's going on here?"  
  
We quickly looked up.  
  
Ms Bishop stood framed in the doorway, hands on broad hips.  
  
"Ann just had a bad dream, Ms Bishop." Gwen answered, pushing her glasses up on her nose. She had a pretty freckled face framed by short dark curls. I remembered her from Casey's Math class and the chess club.  
  
Bishop's sharp eyes fell on Zeke. "What is he doing here? I thought I made it explicitly clear – no fraternizing in the girls' lodges. And especially not after lights out."  
  
"An-"  
  
"OUT!" She stated firmly, standing aside waiting for Zeke to leave.  
  
"I'll be ok," I told Zeke.  
  
He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before rising. "I'll be in the cabin just across the walkway if you need me." And without glancing at the biology teacher, he sauntered out of the room.  
  
"Now get to sleep, all of you. We're heading back at six tomorrow morning." With that, the teacher spun on her heel and shut the door. 


	4. Back to school

Chapter 4  
  
My head nodded forward and I forced it upright. Blinking my eyes rapidly to stop them fluttering close, I made myself listen to Miss Burke discussing 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Usually, Literature was my favorite subject, but I after my nightmare last night I didn't sleep again. Now I was finding it difficult to stay awake in all my classes.  
  
Just then, the bell rang.  
  
With relief, I shoved my books into my bag and stood. At the door, Miss Burke stopped me.  
  
"Ann, are you feeling all right? You don't look too well. Maybe you should go see Nurse Harper," she said in her diffident, quiet voice.  
  
I shook my head and smiled at her. "It's ok, Miss Burke, we just got back from the bio field trip. Just a little tired, that's all."  
  
The next class was American History with Mr Tate. It went by in a complete blur. Stokely kept glancing across at me, and had to nudge me every once in a while, though I doubted Tate would even care if I fell asleep in his class. He was his usual bludgy self, sipping whisky from his coffee mug while droning on about the American Revolution from the text book.  
  
After class, I met up with Zeke at the lockers. Together, we each grabbed a tray from the cafeteria. Passing tables grouped in your usual high school cliques of jocks, nerds, geeks, goths, and outcasts, we headed outside. Stokely was already sitting at our usual stone table beneath the sycamore tree in the school courtyard. Her book was open before her and she was biting into her sandwich without taking her eyes off the page.  
  
"Hey Stokes, where're the others?" Zeke drawled, casually dropping into a seat beside her.  
  
She glanced up at us. "Case and Stan are in the library – Stan's getting last minute tuition for his algebra test this afternoon. Delilah's got cheerleading practice, I think."  
  
I set down my tray and took out of my bag Robert Heinlein's 'Double Star'. "Thanks for letting me borrow it, Stokes," I passed her the book. "It's got a good plot."  
  
Lately, she'd been lending me some of her sci-fi books to read. We'd become good friends after that alien incident three months ago. She had even agreed to go shopping with me for more pastel colored clothes to accompany her straight black wardrobe, much to Stan's delighted surprise.  
  
We talked about the new teachers replacing Mrs Olson and Mrs Brummel while we finished our lunch. After awhile, I noticed Zeke's attention was distracted by some of the other students walking around.  
  
"What is it, Zeke?"  
  
His eyes narrowed slightly. "There're a lot of people drinking from the fountain and carryin' bottles..." he began in his deep gravelly voice.  
  
I glanced around. Was it just me, or was Zeke right?  
  
"To fuck with that," drawled Stokely, shaking her head. "It's a hot day. It's standard. Besides, Casey nailed that alien motherbitch for good."  
  
I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess we're just being paranoid. There's no way there's another out there, right?"  
  
"Damn right."  
  
But we lapsed into silence as we mulled over that possibility. Just then, the first fat drops of rain started pattering onto the stone table and the courtyard around us. Stokely closed her book. "Hey, let's go see how Stan and Case are going with algebra." 


	5. Math 101

Chapter 5  
  
"Man, they should just stick to numbers in math, and leave letters to English 101."  
  
Stan frowned down at his textbook.  
  
"Hey, I know it's pretty confusing, but you've improved a lot." Casey reassured him.  
  
"Yeah, don't let us down, man. We've got our bets on C- instead of a D." Zeke grinned. He was seated straddling a chair turned backward, his chin resting on crossed arms over the back of the chair. Stokely and I sat opposite Casey and Stan at the large wooden table.  
  
"Gee, I'm glad to see you guys have so much faith in me," Stan replied sarcastically.  
  
The old librarian held up a sign: Quiet Please.  
  
"Man, they hardly let us talk here anymore."  
  
Keeping our voices down, we went on talking until the bell rang for class. 


	6. Something's up with the parents

Chapter 6  
  
It continued to rain all afternoon. Despite that though, football practice was still on after school.  
  
"Coach Willis is a fuckin' diehard, man." Zeke said.  
  
"Tell me about it. Besides my studies, he's one of the reasons I quit the team," replied Stan.  
  
Twirling his keys, Zeke led the five of us to his GTO.  
  
"Are you sure you want to give us all lifts home?" Casey asked him again. "We don't want the coach wringing you for this."  
  
"Nah, its cool. Coach'll live a day without me."  
  
Inside the car, he turned on the heater and radio.  
  
"God, look at my hair. It's a fucking mess." Delilah complained, trying ineffectively to dry it.  
  
Stokely rolled her eyes but refrained from retorting. Ever since Delilah started dating Casey, she and the head cheerleader just had to make do and tolerate each other. But I had to concede; Delilah was marginally nicer to everyone these days.  
  
"Must be my positive influence," Casey had joked when I pointed it out to him and Stokely a week before.  
  
Stan's car was still at the shop having its brakes fixed and Delilah had left hers at home so Zeke was playing cab-driver for the day. We dropped Stokely off first since she lived closest to school. She used to walk to school each day. That was, until Stan started giving her lifts. Similarly, I used to catch the school bus with Casey, but lately Zeke drove me home after football practice when I'd wait up for him.  
  
"Hey Stan, how was the quiz?" I asked.  
  
Stan grimaced. "Uh, don't ask. I totally stuffed up the last question."  
  
"At least you reached the last question," Stokely smiled at him.  
  
"Yeah, at least I did..." He bent his head to Stokely's and they kissed.  
  
They made such a cute couple. Smiling, I turned back in my seat and gazed out the windshield at the rain-slicked road. Zeke had the wipers on at max speed. I leaned back in the passenger seat. I was happy for Stan. All that after-school tuition with Casey was finally paying off.  
  
Three minutes later, Zeke pulled up in front of my place.  
  
"See you guys tomorrow!" I grabbed my bag and shut the door.  
  
Then I quickly ran through the rain up the stairs to the shelter of the porch. Unlocking the front door, I slipped inside. I was about to go upstairs like I usually did everyday but Mrs Harrison, my foster mom, called out from the kitchen.  
  
"Ann, dear, is that you?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs Harrison!" I started up the stairs.  
  
"Come here where we can see you, dear."  
  
Wondering what was up, I walked into kitchen. Mrs Harrison was busy chopping carrots, while Mr Harrison was reading the paper, a glass of water on the table before him.  
  
"Oh, you poor thing! You're soaked to the bone!" Mrs Harrison exclaimed. "Here, I've made you some hot chocolate," she held out a mug.  
  
"Uh, thanks." I took the mug, frowning. What was going on? My foster parents weren't usually half this nice.  
  
"Was that that good for nothing drug-dealer kid?" Mr Harrison asked. He stood and went over to the window.  
  
"His name's Zeke, and he's actually really clever," I replied defensively. In fact, he was applying more of his intellect as Burke had wanted him to last year. His grades were picking up effortlessly, so that he could graduate this year with all of us.  
  
"You know how we don't approve of this Zeke. He's a bad influence."  
  
I frowned. Since when did you care so much? I thought. "I'm going upstairs to clean up, ok?"  
  
"Dinner's at six!" Mrs Harrison called after me. "I'm making your favorite tonight!"  
  
I hurried up the stairs, my mind a whirl of questions. What the hell was going on? The Harrisons were acting totally weird; more like Casey's over- protective parents then their usual couldn't-care-less selves. Maybe they'd finally gotten sick of me and were planning to send me off to another foster home. I hoped that wasn't the case. For the first time since my real parents died, I liked where I was. I had proper friends here at Herrington – I didn't want to leave.  
  
*  
  
Back in the kitchen, Mr and Mrs Harrison exchanged meaningful looks. Some sort of silent communication seemed to pass between them. Then, slowly, Mrs Harrsion put down her chopping knife and nodded once to her husband. Taking a swallow of water, Mr Harrison set down his glass.  
  
Together they headed up the stairs. 


	7. The attack

Chapter 7  
  
"Hey Stokes, something's up with my foster parents."  
  
I had decided to call Stokely the instant I reached my room. Maybe she could give me some heads up on the situation.  
  
"So's my dad." Her voice sounded faint, distant. Must've been the storm. Wind lashed at the bedroom window, pelting heavy rain against the glass pane. Outside, the sky was dark with thick, congested clouds. Lightning flashed intermittently accompanied by the rumble of thunder.  
  
"Its like they're completely different people," I continued. "You don't think-"  
  
Just then, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Just a second!" I called out. To the receiver, I hissed, "They're here! What do I do?!"  
  
"Stall them or something. I'm gonna call Stan's cell ph-"  
  
The door opened. I put down the phone before I heard the rest of Stokely's sentence and swiveled in my chair.  
  
My foster parents entered the room. There was a strange, intense look in their flat eyes.  
  
"Ann, dear. You know we only want what's best for you..." Mr Harrison began. He slowly advanced.  
  
I stood and slowly backed off. "Uh-huh..." I wondered where they were going with all this.  
  
"We haven't exactly been the best of parents," Mrs Harrison continued, moving to stand beside her husband. "But all that is going to change. We understand that now."  
  
"Listen, I don't know what's gotten into the two of you. But if you have something important to tell me, then you'd mind as well go ahead and say it. I can handle it."  
  
"Yes, we believe you can." Mr Harrison repeated.  
  
They sprang.  
  
Mrs Harrison grabbed my arms in a vice-like hold and pinned them behind me. I screamed, struggling and kicking. I hit her knee-cap and she released me suddenly. I fell forward onto my hands and knees on the floor. They loomed over me, reaching out. Gasping, I rolled, coming up to my feet.  
  
"Mrs Harrison! Mr Harrison!"  
  
"Don't make this any harder than it has to be, girl," my foster dad growled. He grabbed my shoulders and forced me back onto the bed.  
  
"Please!" I screamed, panic choking my throat. I kicked out at his groin. He let go. Rolling, I grabbed a photo-frame off my desk and hurled it at them. They ducked and came at me again.  
  
Mrs Harrison held me down while her husband leaned over me. He opened his mouth wide, and something grey and slimy began to emerge from his mouth.  
  
I screamed and tried to push him away, but he was like an implacable machine. An alien.  
  
"No!!!" I was sobbing in horror. "Please!!" This wasn't happening, it couldn't be!  
  
All of a sudden, something plowed into him from the side. It was Stan. He crash-tackled my foster dad to the floor in a rolling heap. In stunned surprise, I watched as Casey and Delilah shoved my foster mom into the closet and slammed the door.  
  
"Ann," Zeke took my hand and pulled me up.  
  
Stan snatched the quilt off the bed to wrap Mr Harrison up in it. Zeke bent down to help him. Meanwhile, Casey had his back pressed against the closet while Delilah dragged over the desk.  
  
"Now let's get the fuck out of here." Stan jumped up and made for the door.  
  
There were muffled snarls from the quilt, and the trapped Mrs Harrison was banging violently against the closet door.  
  
We didn't hesitate. Hurrying out the room, we pelted down the staircase two steps at a time, hitting the front door at a run. Zeke had left the GTO idling by the kerb. We jumped in. Zeke slammed the car into gear and floored the pedal. The GTO shot forward, and we roared down the road, tires screeching in the stormy night.


	8. Its happening again

Chapter 8  
  
"Fuck!" Zeke slammed his hands down on the steering wheel.  
  
"It's happening again," Stan shook his head.  
  
"Must've happened while we were away," Casey mused.  
  
I frowned. "But it wasn't so obvious at school this time." My heart was still beating far too rapidly after what had happened. I was so glad they'd been close by. Any slower and... I didn't want to think about it.  
  
"Maybe it's just started," said Delilah, staring out the window at the pouring rain.  
  
"What I want to know is how," Casey continued. "I saw the mother alien die. She completely dried up..."  
  
We were turning into Stokely's street. But halfway down the street, we caught sight of a figure running along the sidewalk in the rain. It was Stokely, and it looked like she'd been crying. We pulled up.  
  
"They got my dad," she swiped a hand across her nose, "they got my whole fucking family."  
  
"Shh... its ok," Stan put his arms around her and guided her into the car.  
  
Reaching over me, Zeke snapped opened the glove compartment. Inside were several scat pens and a gun. He grabbed the lot and turned to us.  
  
"Sniff this." He held out the pens.  
  
We stared at him.  
  
"Man, not this again." Stan groaned.  
  
"You and Delilah don't do Bio. You two didn't go on the field trip. We ain't goin' anywhere till you take it."  
  
Letting out a breath, Stan took two pens. He passed one to Delilah. We watched them carefully as they unscrewed the top, Zeke's gun aimed and ready.  
  
Together, they inhaled deeply.  
  
We waited.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"There, satisfied?" Stan handed the empty pens back to Zeke.  
  
"Alright, now the rest of you." Zeke pressed a pen each into Casey's, Stokely's, and my hand.  
  
The three of us sniffed. Again, nothing.  
  
Stan grabbed the gun off Zeke. "Now your turn."  
  
Shrugging, Zeke put a pen to his nose and sniffed.  
  
"Now that you've established we're all human, can you step on it before the real aliens come after us?" Delilah urged. She glanced nervously out the window.  
  
Zeke put the car into gear and we pulled away from the kerb.  
  
"Where are we going now?" asked Stokely. Her head was down and she was pinching the bridge of her nose against the effects of the drug.  
  
"My family's got a cabin up in the mountains. We go there every summer. We could go there," Stan suggested.  
  
"No, we have to stay and fight." Casey argued. He leaned forward in his seat. "We did it last time and it worked. If we go now, we'll never outrun it."  
  
"But that's cos we knew it was one of the faculty," countered Stan. "This time, the entire town's been infected even before the teachers..."  
  
I agreed. "Yeah, it could be anyone this time."  
  
"I say we crash at Stan's cabin. We can synth more scat there, ready our supplies, get back on top of the situation. We can figure out what to do from there." Zeke said.  
  
There was silence. No one else seemed to have a better plan.  
  
Stan nodded. "Let's do it."  
  
***  
  
So how was that so far? Feel free to be as honest as you want. Looking forward to lots of feedback to point me in the right direction - If I'm on the wrong track, I'll scrap it and start on plan B, no probs. But if not, I'll be happy to continue! 


	9. PART 2: Escape

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed my story. Its really encouraging to receive so much positive feedback! I know, its taken me ages to continue, but here it is finally – Part 2! Hope you like it!  
  
PART 2 Chapter 9  
  
It was a while before effects of the scat wore off. One of the last to experience the high, Casey was still giggling like a hyena when Zeke slowed the car to an impatient idle at an intersection, waiting for the red light to turn green. With a sudden screech of tires, another car pulled up beside us. Loud, pounding music blasted out from windows wound completely down despite the rain.  
  
"Hey, where're ya off to, buddy?" Gabe shouted across at us, one arm slouched arrogantly across the open driver's window. Three other jocks sat in his car, their heads moving in time to the fast beat.  
  
"Where're ya off to, buddy?" Casey repeated with a fresh burst of giggles.  
  
"We're ah..." Stan began.  
  
"Catchin' a movie," Zeke cut in with the lie. His eyes flicked to the traffic light. It was still red.  
  
"Yeah?" Gabe answered. I couldn't tell if he believed us or not, or if he and the other jocks had also been turned, but at that moment all I wanted to do was get out of town. "Hey, you know Alex," Gabe continued casually, "man, he's chucking one massive party at his place! Come with us and check it out," he cocked his head.  
  
"Nah man, I think we'll pass," Zeke replied. The light had just turned green. But before he could step on the accelerator, two more cars screeched to a halt in front of the Pontiac, blocking the road off. Zeke's eyes narrowed. Stokely and I exchanged wide-eyed looks of alarm.  
  
"C'mon, Zeke! You're part of the team now, man. Gotta play by the rules..." Gabe slowly stepped out of his car into the rain. He didn't seem to notice the water soaking his hair and clothes. From the two cars in front, the rest of the jocks also got out, all wearing their Hornets jackets. Chris was one of them. I froze. His face was expressionless. Tapping a baseball bat against the palm of one hand, he and the others slowly approached our car.  
  
"What's going on, Gabe?" Stan asked suspiciously. His hand tightened over the gun in his lap.  
  
Gabe was slowly shaking his head at us. "I'm really disappointed in you guys. Especially you, Stan. You let us down bad, quitting the team just like that..." They converged on the car, circling menacingly around us like baiting sharks. I stared out the window, my heart beating rapidly in fear. What were they up to? I tried not to let the panic show on my face.  
  
By now, Casey had sobered enough from the scat to realize the potential threat we were in. Leaning over Delilah, he called out the window, "Hey, we'd love check out that party, guys, but 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' is on in five minutes -"  
  
He didn't get to finish his sentence. Behind us, drawing back his arms, Chris swung the baseball bat into our rear windshield.  
  
The windshield shattered inwards with a deafening explosion of glass.  
  
Delilah screamed.  
  
Screaming, I flinched and ducked as shards of glass showered over me, Stokely, Delilah and Casey in the back seat.  
  
"Step on it!" Stan yelled amidst the shouts and screams.  
  
Without hesitation, Zeke floored the pedal. The Pontiac shot forward, slamming into the two cars parked in front of us. With an expert spin of the wheel, he shouldered the car past the obstacles and we roared off down the rain-slicked road.  
  
I turned in my seat to look back. Behind us, the jocks were fast jumping in their cars and gunning their engines to give chase.  
  
"Shit! Faster!" Stan, looking back, urged.  
  
"They got em," Casey murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. "Its happening so fast this time."  
  
Zeke wrenched the wheel hard to the left. We were all flung sideways as the car skidded around the corner, narrowly missing a pole.  
  
"Hurry!! They're gaining on us!" Delilah screamed in a shrill high-pitched voice filled with panic.  
  
All of a sudden we were abruptly jerked forward in our seats as something rammed us from behind. Gasping, I cast another look over my shoulder – Gabe's car was riding bumper to bumper behind us. Grinning maniacally, he rammed us again.  
  
"Fuck!" Zeke swore. He shifted gears, tried to pull away. But Chris's car caught up alongside our right.  
  
With a hard, intense expression on his face, Chris jerked the wheel, slamming his car into ours. He was trying to force us off the road! The Pontiac veered as Zeke wrestled for control of the car. Stan fired the gun. The bullets ripped into Chris. He slouched unconscious over the wheel and their car swerved away, smashing into a van parked by the kerb. 


End file.
